: An 11-member team from the National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, will collect water samples from effluent discharge points of four industrial units located on the banks of Periyar from October 27.
This follows an instruction from the Chennai bench of the National Green Tribunal on a petition filed by A. Muhammed Ali of Jan Jagratha Samithi, Eloor.
On Tuesday, the team will reach the Hindustan Insecticides Limited for the monitoring and collection of water samples. Samples will be collected from all the four units of the company.
Sediment sampling will also be done. On October 28, the team will visit FACT, Merchem on October 29 and Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited on October 30, according to Tapas Nandi, chief scientist and head of the wastewater technology division of the Institute.
Besides, the officials of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, the court has suggested that two representatives of the petitioners shall be present at the time of the collection of the samples.
Meanwhile, environmental activists complained that the discolouration of river water was reported at near Pathalam bund on Thursday. The river water had acquired a reddish tint, which could be due to the release of pollutants, they said.
